The theme stalks each song's subject and protagonist, such as Forbert when he becomes an enlightened attendee at a ridiculous arena concert where the rock star in "The Beast Of Ballyhoo (Rock Show)" 's tattoos contradict his gold satin jacket, and who has "a ring on ev'ry finger" yet his green eyes glow.

The most memorable thing about William Castle's 13 GHOSTS 1960, which the "King of Ballyhoo" dreamed up while driving through France with his wife and passing an abandoned house, is the gimmick of "Illusion-O," which allowed moviegoers to see the eponymous haints that bedevil an impoverished paleontologist and his nuclear family after they inherit the sprawling ancestral mansion.

After a short intermission, the second semi-final round will pit the charming Irina Reyn (a substitute for the previously announced Joshua Mandelbaum, who presumably injured himself at practice), representing Ballyhoo Stories, against the lovely Tao Lin, representing Opium Magazine.